How the eSports Industry Benefits from COVID-19

The eSports industry has experienced quite the boom in popularity for the past few years. What started as a small industry only focused on games such as League of Legends has become a multi-million-dollar industry, filled to the brim with talent and professional players.

Livestream sites such as Twitch have helped garner a larger audience for eSports, so it’s no surprise that the site has been experiencing a boom in viewership due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yes, the eSports industry has benefited from this pandemic more than most other industries, and there a few reasons for this recent boom in popularity. Without further ado, let me tell you why the eSports industry has been succeeding during this pandemic.

Self-Quarantine

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’ll know that many people are practicing “self-quarantine”, a method which involves one person or a group of people staying in one location. Self-quarantine involves not going outside unless for emergencies, such as the need for groceries or a family incident.

Thanks to the self-quarantine craze, people have a lot more time to themselves. Wanting to avoid the boredom involved in staying home all day, many people turn to the Internet in order to satiate their need for entertainment, leading them to the world of eSports.

Like I said earlier, Twitch experienced a surge in viewers this past week—a 15% increase, in fact. I only expect this record to last for so long before being shattered again since more and more people are self-quarantining in order to protect themselves from the virus (and no, I’m not talking about the virus that requires a Gamer VPN).

Traditional Sports Cancellations (and Adaptations)

With many of everyone’s sports being canceled, such as the NFL and NBA, it’s no secret why people are counting on eSports to alleviate their boredom. Many of the people I know are downright religious when talking about sports, and this pandemic has put a damper on things.

However, it’s not all Counter Strike and League of Legends. Some traditional sports organizations are adapting to the current trend of eSports popularity, allowing users to watch live streams of the latest tournaments.

For example, Formula One allows fans to watch their races online, making sure no one misses out on the latest tournaments. While we shouldn’t expect the NBA and NFL to take advantage of live streaming, it’s nice to know not every sports fan will be disappointed in 2020.

The Increased Interest in Online Gaming

Similar to Twitch’s increase in viewership, online gaming platforms have experienced massive gains ever since the pandemic started. 20 million users were online on Steam at the same time, shattering previous records. The Steam-exclusive game Counter- Strike experienced the same increase in popularity.

With many people taking advantage of digital purchasing for video games, it’s no surprise that many have taken an interest in eSports. After all, it only takes one game of Counter-Strike to become interested in how the professionals play.

Will Organizations Take Advantage?

This spike in popularity won’t last for long—though I’m sure the success will help the industry—so it’s important that these organizations take advantage of the situation. Now is the prime time for Twitch to update their site and add quality-of-life features for their users—complaints many viewers have had in the past. eSports organizations could advertise themselves more and even take branding deals (such as Destiny 2 does quite often). Sponsors could go crazy and sponsor anything and everything.

Point is, the eSports industry has benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic, but there’s an opportunity to benefit even more. Once everyone is out of isolation and the pandemic is over, will they come back to eSports?

There’s nothing wrong with increased popularity, so I hope that organizations take the situation and use it to improve their games, sites, and user retention. If people are going to use eSports as a way to distract themselves from the pandemic, why not make sure they’re having the best possible time?